Originally Posted By planodisney Isnt it funny how the worm turns. DCA bashers, with their endless excuses, are starting to sound like DCA excuse makers during it's first year. DCA attendance IS growing, and will grow more this year. I predict that after the new placemaking, new ride in PP and a new lagoon show, the Bashers endless excuses will start to look just as ridiculous as those early excuses for lagging attendance. DCA is building an audience, plain and simple, and that is before a dramatic enhancement over the next couple of years. Enjoy it while you still have time left you Negative Nellies. Your time is almost up!!
Originally Posted By disneywatcher >> Your time is almost up!! << I'm sure Michael Eisner and Barry Braverman have been saying the same thing since before and after 2001. Creative geniuses, they are.
Originally Posted By gadzuux >> DCA attendance IS growing, and will grow more this year. << "WHY" is attendance growing? Your implication is because the park is 'finding it's audience' and becoming a beloved addition to the disney park stable. More likely scenarios are the record-breaking 50th crowds swamping DL next door for the past year, and the resulting overflow into DCA. And currently the free 2fer tickets that expire at the end of the month. Yes, DCA has improved somewhat since opening day, and yes it will continue to improve over time. But there are better barometers of quality and public acceptance than short-term bumps in park attendance, especially when we know these bumps are due to factors unrelated to the public's enthusiasm for DCA.
Originally Posted By kmovies Least we not forget ... the 2fers help DL too. Two tickets - two parks is a lot more reason to go to DL. Some people may find $59.00 too much to pay for DL. But with this deal they get DL and DCA for $59.00. Without the deal...DL would be SLOWER ... DCA would be SLOWER.
Originally Posted By woody >>I predict that after the new placemaking, new ride in PP and a new lagoon show, the Bashers endless excuses will start to look just as ridiculous as those early excuses for lagging attendance.<< You're proving the DCA bashers are correct. DCA attendance is improving because they are fixing DCA's problems. I can't wait for all the new rides, attractions, shows, and theming. Then I can retire my bashing. Yet, if they mess up, there will be more material on how they cheaped out and missed an opportunity to really fix the park. LOL!!!
Originally Posted By oc_dean But then again Woody .. there are the contingent of the "DCA Lovers Society" who defend DCA to no end, as if it were a human being... that can do no wrong. I too will be more than happy to lay my criticisms to rest once every new project is handled with the right touch. And most of the original set-up for DCA is gone. The more good things they do (Monsters Inc.) the more I WILL praise. The more mediocre and bad things they do, the more criticism they'll receive.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>there are the contingent of the "DCA Lovers Society" who defend DCA to no end, as if it were a human being... that can do no wrong.<< Where? I've not seen anyone stating the park 'can do no wrong'. I have seen people who attempt to have a more measured response to the park, who often get slapped with labels like "apologist" and such, or shouted down by people who live to hate the park. I'd love to see this claim backed up, Dean. I just don't think the league of peope who find zero faults in the park are out there, and if so, in any great number.
Originally Posted By oc_dean calm down, calm down my dear friend. I'm rounding up everything I've been reading on this board since the first day I started posting back in May 2000. Since then, it has become more even-tempered. But you got to admit .. there have been times in the past where we've heard some pretty ~amazing~ postings.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan On both sides of the argument in 5+ years, yes. I appreciate constructuve criticism -- I like it when someone bashes something that is lame while offering up a good idea that would fix or replace it. That's what a good movie critic, for example does. The giddy, nyaah-nyaah stuff is just silly and so old. In my humble opinion. : )
Originally Posted By planodisney I believe I ripped both the bashers who constantly make excuses for why they park has had ANYTHING positive happen, and the excuse makers who constantly came up with excuses why attendance wasnt up to snuff. Nothing DCA Lovers Society about it. DCA cant win with many of the negative Nellies on here, because, as ocdean demands, not every project will be absolute perfection, which will give people of that sort, never ending permission to participate in one of their greatest joys in life; namely, proving their theme park critiquing superiority by being negative. The park is definitely superior to opening, yet the arguments and comments are exactly the same, as if nothing positive has been done. Much positive has been done, and more is on the way. Funny how we cant admit that ToT, Monsters, BPB, TT in the redone Animation building have helped DCA's attendance at all. Of course the 50th and the 2fers helped DCA's attendance last weekend, but the park was maxed out for what I believe was the first time. We dont need overblown exuberance about a completely fixed park, but be somewhat unbiased if at all possible.
Originally Posted By oc_dean >>as ocdean demands, not every project will be absolute perfection, << I thought you might have known me just a bit better than that. After 6 years here! I don't think it's "so demanding" to wish at least the same level of creativity we've seen between Pirates in 1967 to DisneySea in 2001. Is it so demanding to wish the less than mediocre influences of Braverman, Pressler, and Eisner in his second half of his tenure to vanish? You know .. this argument of "all the negative nellies" is just as *off key*, if some payed attention... many critics (like myself) do pay attention when positive changes affect DCA - Prime example: Monsters Inc.
Originally Posted By planodisney ocdean, I do agree with you that DCA needs more of the classic Disney park elements.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "The giddy, nyaah-nyaah stuff is just silly and so old." Yep. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Black & White.
Originally Posted By oc_dean Thanks Plano. And I appreciate all the responses from everyone. And don't worry Hans. This topic is mainly about the signs - It was amusing for 30 seconds. Thought I'd mention them here. You don't have to worry about another DCA Critique topic. That was not my intention - You got the rest of the boards for that!! :O)
Originally Posted By LuvDatDisney I don't ever remember WDW offering 2-for-1 tickets when EPCOT Center opened. Of course that's because they didn't. Did TDR offer 2-for-1s when TDS opened? It's great to see DCA packed, and it's getting better in some areas, but I do think people need to be realistic about why it was so crowded this weekend.
Originally Posted By 9oldmen >>"Some more stats for DCA this past weekend courtesy of MousePlanet..." Those numbers, if true, sound higher than in years past, no?<< I certainly hope they're higher than at least last year at this time. At that time, there was no "Monsters", and the 50th hadn't kicked off yet. One thing to remember is that the park is STILL not meeting its original projections, and is still dead last as far as attendance compared to all the other U.S. Disney parks, and probably 2nd to last worldwide, with WDSP being last. If they were either meeting or exceeding their projections and offering 2fers, that would be one thing. If they were falling short of projections, but if more guest were paying full price, that would be another, but the fact that even with 2fers, they can't meet the projections, and are still dead last (hardly anything to be proud of, especially given that they are the newest park), indicates that they are clearly not out of the woods yet. Also, it doesn't take any inside info to know that individual guest spending can't be as much as they were expecting because of the 2fers, APs, and the money that was supposed to be generated by Hollywood and Dine and Soap Opera Bistro. Attendance is up, but there is no way that the park can be meeting its goals, goals that I think could have been exceeded if they opened a stronger park. I just don't think that the fact that they were "sold out" for a couple of days is that big of a deal, nor is it horrible news. Now I guess someone is going to point out that for EPCOT's first 7 years, it too was dead last, against what was then two other U.S. parks.
Originally Posted By kmovies Do you ever remember Disney giving 3 days free at WDW. It happened - buy 4 days, get 3 days free. And that was two years ago. Last year it was buy 5, get 2 days free. Then last fall and this fall "Free Dining". Even DL had 5 day tickets for the price of 3. Heck, isn't that about half price. DL has always discounted, so has WDW. Some discounts better than others.
Originally Posted By kmovies Speaking of Epcot Center too ... Back then it was Florida with 2 parks vs. California with 1. Florida would win out for multi day visits. Even when DCA was added, it is still Florida with 4 parks vs. California with 2 parks. So Florida still wins for multi day visits.
